NFL

Ravens 34, Bengals 20

The Ravens haven’t come close to slamming the door on the AFC North as a whole — the Steelers and Browns are each just a game back of Baltimore — but last night may have ended Cincinnati’s hopes for winning the division. In this game, the Ravens’ offense was humming at its usual level, but a challenge awaits John Harbaugh’s club due to Mark Andrews’ season-ending ankle injury. In place of the tight end, the Ravens will need more production from Zay Flowers, Odell Beckham and Isaiah Likely.

The pass rush — and defensive front as a whole — was questioned in Baltimore as the season began, but all those concerns have been erased by now. In particular, Justin Madubuike has been excellent all season for the Ravens, and he tallied another sack last night, giving him 9.5 in 2023.

Being 5-5 after back-to-back trips to the AFC Championship Game is alarming enough, but the biggest question in Cincinnati right now is the status of Joe Burrow. The hope, of course, is that Burrow can return to play against the Steelers on November 26th after a week and a half of rest, but that’s obviously no guarantee. If the Bengals have to rely on Jake Browning for at least several weeks, the team’s playoff hopes are probably dashed.

Cincinnati ran the ball fairly well yesterday — much better than the standard set for the team this season — but the passing game, especially without Burrow, wasn’t there. 12 yards for Ja’Marr Chase just isn’t enough.

With or without the team’s star signal-caller, the Bengals must win next week versus division-rival Pittsburgh.

NCAAF

Pittsburgh 24, Boston College 16

Entering this contest at 2-8, Pittsburgh’s season was already over, so it’s mystifying as to why we hadn’t seen Nate Yarnell under center sooner for the Panthers. The sophomore wasn’t perfect last night, and was even a bit erratic, but he should be the guy moving forward for Pittsburgh, after going 11-for-19 for 207 yards and a touchdown. Yarnell got a nice boost from teammate Dayon Hayes, who registered two sacks.

Boston College already wasn’t as good as its 6-4 record coming in, and this loss further moves away the Eagles from the upper tier of the ACC.